The present invention relates to pressure sensitive adhesive labels and more particularly, a label adapted to conform to wet, irregularly shaped surfaces that may include texturing found on the surface of raw fruits and vegetables.
In recent years, it has been deemed desirable to apply labels to identify source, as well as grade or quality of raw fruits and vegetables. For many years, growers and packers have sought to apply labels to individual fruit such as apples, avocados, cantaloupe, grapefruit, melons, kiwifruit, lemons, limes, nectarines, oranges, pears, pineapples, plums, tangerines, and watermelons, and to individual vegetables such as bell peppers, celery, cucumber, onions, potatoes, radishes, and squash. Growers and packers wish to affix a recognizable label to the individual products in order to distinguish them from the products of competitors and provide them with a unique identifying mark. Typical processing of fruits and vegetables includes washing the items after they have been picked and before they are shipped. Conventional labels are designed to adhere to dry, relatively smooth surfaces. The presence of water between the label and the surface of the fruit or vegetable will typically cause adhesion failure. Consequently, before a label is applied to these products, they must be thoroughly dried so that the label will effectively adhere to their surface. No known adhesive label can effectively be used on wet fruit and vegetable surfaces. As a result, there is a need to develop an adhesive label which is suitable for use under wet conditions.
Another shortcoming of conventional labels is that they often do not conform to the surface of irregular surfaced fruits and vegetable such as, for example, cantaloupe, melons, pineapples, tangerines, potatoes, and some squashes. They become easily creased and/or folded because of the planar nature of the label. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide labels which readily adhere to irregularly shaped or curved surfaces of fruit and vegetables.
There is a need in the art for improved labels that address at least some of the above concerns, and other concerns related to manufacture and use of the labels.